This soluble textile was specially developed by Dutch fashion designer Jef Montes as a spectacular opening piece for the runway.

On the runway, the model bursts the orb with water inside, which begins to dissolve and melt down her body. Montes’ experiments with water soluble materials and the creation of chemical reactions yielded these innovative fabrics. The dissolvable pattern has been fixated into the fabric using a chemical reaction in the fabric.

Velero Textile by Jef Montes was inspired by the construction of sailboats and the materials from which they are constructed including glass fiber, carbon, aramid, brass, nylon, wool silk, viscose and cotton. Most of the materials were developed in his own studio but also in the textiellab of textielmuseum Tilburg. The silhouettes of Velero Textile draws from the contours of ships. The forms seem to move around the body like a ship in a storm: angular and organic at the same time – inspired by the battle between machine and nature.

For Jef Montes, fire and water play and important role in his creative inspiration. In another series, Montes literally set material on fire and then ‘treated’ them with explosions, after which the burned areas were decorated with Swarovski Crystals.